At 100 years old, the Westminster Building downtown barely looks a day over 85.
And the building's strata owners are marking its centenary year with series of improvement projects aimed at keeping the building beautiful for the next 100 years.
First on the to-do list, according to lawyer and strata owner Michael Hwang, is replacing the iconic flagpole that used to adorn the building. It was taken down several years ago after it was found to be damaging the roof.
"For many decades, that flag has been an iconic symbol on this building. The very first pictures on postcards of this building had the flag. Every picture you look at of this building has a flag," Hwang said.
Hwang and the other owners have selected Feb. 15, National Flag Day of Canada, to raise the flag once more.
The owners have also hired local historian Archie Miller to begin researching the building's construction and tenants,
"He's compiling a list of all the notable businesses that occupied this building over the last 100 years and pictures. We'll probably have a photo exhibition of all the various stages of this building," he said.
Hwang said anyone with old photos or stories about the building's past can contribute to the project by contacting Miller at information@senseof history.com.
Hwang said the owners are also looking to get some similarly-aged cars to park out front of the building for the annual Royal City Show & Shine to "replicate the photos of the old, bygone days."
Beyond that, the owners are also searching for government and cor-porate partners to invest in a series of LED spotlights similar to the ones used to illuminate heritage buildings in Vancouver's Gastown. The result, Hwang said, should be the Westminster Building holding its own against the new civic centre, set for completion in 2013.
"That's going to be a very modern structure and to have our building with a brick façade and dark, I think colorful illumination would help with the transition," he said.
Hwang said the various businesses that occupy the building agreed to establish a centennial fund and take on the projects out of a sense of honour of being in the building and a desire to leave an appropriate legacy.
"We're very proud to be the stewards of this 100-year-old building, which has been an iconic landmark for downtown New Westminster. I think it's a privilege to be an occupant of the building, and we want to make sure that we leave a legacy for the future occupants to see that they enter and occupy this building with pride," he said. "In this disposable, consumerism-oriented age, I think the fact that this building is standing strong and has accommodated all the changes from the older era to the new electronic era, is remarkable."
Lawyer Dwight Ross, who has had his practice on the third floor since the building was opened for strata sales in January 1983, agrees.
"A lot of buildings that are 100 years old are tear-downs, and I know some that should be torn down, but the city is trying to preserve the heritage of Columbia Street, and this building is the pre-eminent heritage building in the city," he said. "For that reason, I think, for the next 100 years, this building will survive the test of time and be like an anchor for the city's heritage aspect."
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